Two years ago, William Walsh hung posters and made tearful pleas for help in finding his missing wife Leah. Now, after claims that his confession was coerced, he has pleaded guilty to her murder: In court yesterday, Walsh told a judge that he strangled her in a rage as they were arguing about a affair he was having, saying, "I put her in a chokehold. I covered up my actions after the fact. I wish I hadn't done any of it. I am truly sorry."
In 2008, Walsh went to media outlets, begging for his wife's return, "I just keep talking to the cops. I keep asking questions. I wish I could give them more. I don't know where to look. I don't know what to do. I just want my wife back. I miss her more than anything." But Nassau County police found inconsistencies with his story and surmised that Walsh actually killed the 29-year-old special ed teacher and tried to cover up her death, by dumping her body near a golf course while leaving her car, with a flat tire, on the Seaford-Oyster Expressway. He even sent a text message, from her phone, to himself.
However, a Department of Transportation employee spotted him by her vehicle. And when police questioned him about the murder and asked for where his wife's ID and credit card were, Walsh allegedly took them out of his shoe.
Walsh's lawyer said that he did not recommend his client take the plea deal, but Walsh wanted to spare his wife's family the pain of a trial. A prosecutor confirmed that Leah Walsh's family "would rather agree to this plea and this sentence than to be put through a lengthy trial." Walsh, 31, now faces 18 years to life in prison; he will be sentenced next month.
